Bob Cringeley makes a bold statement in a blog post responding to Apple's iCloud announcement: "Jobs is going to sacrifice the Macintosh in order to kill Windows." He says, "The incumbent platform today is Windows because it is in Windows machines that nearly all of our data and our ability to use that data have been trapped. But the Apple announcement changes all that. Suddenly the competition isn't about platforms at all, but about data, with that data being crunched on a variety of platforms through the use of cheap downloaded apps."

... over two grand over the life of a cell phone contract to get the "Oh, Wow!" subsidized price of $200 US.

I hear this argument a lot, but unless you have T-Mobile you won't pay any less per month whether you pay full price for the phone or the subsidized price, at least in the US. None of the other US carriers offer lower monthly payments for non-contract post-paid accounts. T-Mobile offers Even More Plus plans for those who bring their own unlocked phone to the carrier, or who prefer to pay full retail price and not be tied down, and the monthly savings are pretty good.

Granted, they took it off the website recently so you have to request it in-store or by phone, so it may be going away soon. If that happens there really is no reason not to get a subsidized phone since you'll pay the same monthly for the entire time you're with that carrier.

No -- you just need to spit out one grand or more for the computer to run the OS on -- or over two grand over the life of a cell phone contract to get the "Oh, Wow!" subsidized price of $200 US.

The OS is cheap because you've already long subsidized the price of it on the hardware purchases.

Considering how well they all work together, I fail to see the issue. If you can't afford it, then don't buy it, no one's forcing you. But the price has no baring on the performance, usability, or cohesiveness of Apple's products. This is a tech site, not a financial site. Money arguments mean little, it's the technology that's important.

And, before anyone attempts to wrongly call me a fanboy:

I'm typing this on a Toshiba laptop that's running Win7; to my right is a tower running PC-BSD; & behind me is an older system running eComstation 2.0. Though I've wanted an Apple for personal reasons, there's just no real reason for me to get one regardless of the cost.